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After dinner, Josh insisted on walking Caroline home. Considering his mother and best friend were there to witness his offer, Caroline didn’t think she could refuse. That was how she ended up in her kitchen making Josh a cup of tea at eleven o’clock on a Sunday night.
“I really should get to bed.” Caroline banged the mugs down on the counter a little harder than she’d intended.
“We can go to bed, baby.”
Josh was sitting at her kitchen table. He wore a pair of faded jeans and a pale blue T-shirt that was tight across his shoulders. His very broad shoulders. Caroline licked her lips as she watched the muscles move beneath his shirt. She caught what she was doing and jerked her gaze up to his face. Josh smiled wickedly. It made her stomach tighten.
“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” Why wouldn’t the man go home? Caroline had been doing her best to avoid him since they’d gotten physical on Thursday evening. It was working fine. So fine, in fact, that she wouldn’t mind avoiding him totally until the wedding. Then they could have all those awkward conversations when they absolutely had to. And not a minute before.
She plonked his mug in front of him.
“No cookies?” His blue eyes sparkled under lashes so thick they made her mouth water.
Caroline sat facing him, and cradled her mug in her palms. “I’m sure there are cookies at your place. Why not go there?”
His laugh seemed to echo throughout her house. She gulped her tea. It burned her tongue. She didn’t care. It was something else to focus on other than the man facing her. The man with soft, full lips. The man with firm muscles under soft skin. She wondered what that skin tasted like. Would it be salty? Would it be sweet? She blinked her thoughts away. She needed to go to bed. Her eyes flew open. Alone! She needed to go to bed alone. She took another large gulp of her tea. Forgetting yet again that it was hot. Hopefully, the sooner she finished, the sooner she could send Josh home.
“Dinner went well, I thought.” Caroline could do small talk. Small talk was good. Small talk would keep her mind off of his thick thighs and long legs.
“Yeah, Dad was about normal. Mom likes you.”
“That’s good.” What else was she supposed to say? She shifted in her chair. It felt as though her skin was on high alert. Even the air around her made it tingle. The soft linen of her dress felt abrasive. Her underwear felt like bondage. It was constraining her. “Are you done yet?” Okay, so it came out a little ruder than she’d intended.
“I’m savouring it.” Josh took a sip. His eyes on Caroline. “I like savouring things. I like letting the taste rest on my tongue until it overwhelms me.”
Caroline blinked hard. “Are you making sexual innuendo?”
Josh’s eyes sparkled. “I was trying to.”
“It was really bad. Cheesy, even.”
“Good to know.”
He placed his mug on the table in front of him, and Caroline peeked into it hopefully. It was still full. She narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re not even drinking it, are you?”
He shrugged. “I hate tea.”
“Then why on earth did you ask for it?”
Josh reached across the table to take her hand. “I wanted to come in.”
Caroline pulled her hand from his. The air in the room seemed thicker somehow, and she felt like she was swallowing each breath rather than inhaling it. “I think it’s time for you to go. I have work in the morning and it’s getting really late.”
She snatched the two mugs and took them to the sink, tipping the contents down the drain.
Her breath stuck in her throat as she felt strong hands at her waist. “Dance with me,” Josh whispered against her neck, making her shiver. Yes, her body screamed. No, her mind answered. Too risky. Touching led to talking. And she really didn’t want to talk. Not tonight. Maybe never.
“There isn’t any music.” Her words were a rasp.
She felt him smile against her skin. It was a tease to her senses. Her eyelids were heavy, and the urge to sink into him was so strong she almost couldn’t resist.
They couldn’t dance. He had to leave. She had an excuse. What was it? Oh yeah. “We can’t dance without music.”
“I can fix that.”
He turned her in his arms, curving one hand around her shoulder and spanning the other across the small of her back. He pressed his cheek to her temple and started to sing. His voice reverberated through her body; it melted her anxieties and soothed her fears. The sound wove a cocoon around them. Caroline’s hands trailed up Josh’s sides and around to his chest. Her eyelids fluttered closed, and she let out a breath she hadn’t realised she was holding. She felt hidden. Sheltered. Precious. It was heady.
They swayed together. Caroline didn’t know the song. It didn’t matter. She barely heard the words. It was the melody and his deep voice that undid her. There was only Josh. Only them. Nothing else mattered but the two of them together. The delicious sensation of their bodies moving as one. Josh’s musky scent mingled with her floral one, making her mouth water. She pressed her cheek against his chest and felt the vibrations of the song work through her. His hand stroked her hair, and Caroline was floating.
She didn’t know how long they stayed like that. One song bled into another. With each note Caroline fell deeper into Josh. With each word her need for him grew. When there was suddenly silence, Caroline felt like she was waking from a deep sleep. A beautiful dream. Her eyes flickered open. She was surprised to see that it was dark and they were no longer in the kitchen. Josh had danced them into the living room. The moonlight filtered through the trees outside, creating soft shadows and an intimate longing within Caroline.
Gently, Josh tipped her chin up towards him. His eyes were dark. The desire in them raw and intense. “Stunning,” he whispered before his lips touched hers.
It all flowed together in one perfect harmony. His touch, his taste, the scent that was just Josh. Caroline whimpered as his kiss deepened. He clasped her face in his hands and angled her mouth, making it easier for him to control the kiss.
She groaned in complaint as his lips left hers. He kissed and licked and nipped his way down her throat to her shoulder. She let her head fall back, allowing him better access. The room shifted and spun around her. She clung to Josh. Her anchor.
When Josh led her to the sofa, Caroline pulled back to look at him. His eyes had turned black with need. She licked her lips. He let out a tiny strangled groan.
“I’m not ready to go further.” Her tone bled desire; she hoped Josh listened to the words instead, because she didn’t have any defences against the man.
“That’s okay, baby. Let’s sit a while and I’ll hold you.”
Caroline found herself snuggled in Josh’s lap. Her head drifted to his shoulder as he gently caressed her thigh.
The shadows of the room lulled her into a dreamlike state. Josh’s heartbeat pulled her further under. She rubbed her nose against the curve of his neck and breathed him deeply. Everything within her melted as she sank into him. Josh’s strong arms gave her a safe place to just be. There were no expectations of her here. No responsibilities. No condemnation. It was paradise.
Her eyes fluttered shut as Josh began to sing. She heard and felt the song as it worked its way through her. She didn’t know how long she sat there wrapped in Josh, lulled into a state of bliss by his voice and his wickedly sensual kisses, but it was a time she never wanted to end.